From Literature to Screen: Tess of the d'Urbervilles from Hardy to Polanski

Walid M Rihane

Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 3

Defining Gothic as a literary genre/ sub-genre ............................................................................................. 3

The Gothic in Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles ........................................................................................... 4

Gothic into Screen ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Gothic: From Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles to Roman Polanski's Tess ................................... 8

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................... 9

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................... 10

Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 11

Introduction

Back before the existence of films, literature was the source of education and entertainment that

people used. From literature, many films descend; whether in plot, visuals, titles, or even genres.

In fact, the genre and the sub-genres that a novel carries highly affects the film adaptation of any

literary text. Imelda Whelehan (2007) argues that canonical literary texts, such as Pride and

Prejudice by Jane Austen, have always been linked to the cinematic interpretation and cinematic

representation of the literary texts. Equally, sub-genres' effect on the cinematic representation of

any written text can be as effective as the main genre itself.

In other words, although Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is mainly a bildungsroman in genre;

however it is argued to be a text with hybrid genres, or as Mikhail Bakhtin calls it,

"hybdrisation". Dennis Walder (2004) says that "genre categories are often rather loosely

defined, and they tend to overlap [. . .] some of the greatest literary works in terms of one level of

genre classification- such as drama- are 'mixed' in terms of another".

This paper will cover the representation of the Gothic sub-genre in Thomas Hardy's tragedy, Tess

of the d'Urbervilles in Roman Polanski's (1979) Tess.

Defining Gothic as a literary genre/ sub-genre

According to Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick (1986) classifies the features of the Gothic genre starting

from the setting until the speech itself. Sedgwick says that the setting of a gothic genre occurs in

a wild landscape. She also describes the female protagonist of gothic literature will be evident of

her "trembling sensitivity". Monastic institutions, sleeplike and deathlike states, live burials, and

the discovery of obscure family ties are recurring topics in a gothic novel. In addition, Sedgwick

notes the observance of unnatural echoes will occur regularly to the reader.

The Gothic in Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles

As mentioned earlier, the main genre of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles is a Victorian

Tragedy which tells the story of a young English woman who gets raped/seduced by Alec - a

newly discovered wealthy relative- leading to the birth of an illegitimate infant who dies shortly

after Tess' delivery. Later on, Tess meets and marries Angel Clare who separates from her after

knowing her "shameful" past before she later kills Alec and ends up executed.

In her PhD dissertation, Negotiating the Gothic in the Fiction of Thomas Hardy, Najwa El Inglizi

(2002) says that the Gothic plays an important role in Thomas Hardy's literary career. She argues

that Hardy's use of characteristic setting, drama, and character type of the Gothic are made more

subtle in his literary texts, such as Tess of the d'Urbervilles.

In examining the Gothic features that Sedgwick lists and the research of El Inglizi, the Gothic

elements in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles will no longer stay "subtle".

The characteristic of Tess, for a beginning, as a Gothic heroine applies to what Sedgwick

describes as a "heroine conspicuous for her trembling sensitivity". Norma Walrath Goldstein

(1989) notes that the character of Tess applies to the model of a Gothic heroine, as she becomes

able to suffer "pain, guilt, delusion. fortitude, perversity, idealism, and courage". All through the

plot of the novel, Tess suffers from pain; with her family, with Alec and with Angel. Guilt plays

an important role in destroying her marriage from Angel Clare, and courage helps her to face the

parson at Marlott and to kill Alec at the end of the novel. At the same time, Tess also enjoys the

simplicity and innocence of Gothic heroines, in addition to the Gothic heroines archetype that

Goldstein sets.

Away from the Gothic within Tess herself, Hardy excels in building a Gothic world. El-Inglizi

says that "Tess seems to live in a world more Gothic than the Gothic itself". In describing many

events and settings, Hardy succeeds in creating a Gothic world which leaves the reader with the

sense of the "uncanny" which "has to do with a sense of strangeness, mystery or eeriness. [. . .] a

sense of unfamiliarity which appears at the very heart of the familiar" (Bennett & Royle, 1995).

The following excerpt from Tess of the d'Urbervilles shows how Hardy creates a Gothic setting

through "the use of exaggerated and high blown diction" (Goldstein, 1989).

"In the diminishing daylight they went along the level roadway through the

meads, which stretched away into gray miles, and were backed in the extreme

edge of a distance by the swarthy and abrupt slopes of Egdon Heath. On its

summit stood clumps and stretches of fir-trees, whose notched tips appeared

like battlemented towers crowing black-fronted castles of enchantment"

(Hardy, 1891, p. 249)

The way that Hardy describes the setting creates a Gothic atmosphere to the reader. Unlike films,

readers imagine and visualise the story, and the narrative technique that Hardy uses leaves the

reader imagining within the Gothic tradition. The fact that he uses similes to compare nature to

castles leaves the reader's imagination bounded by the Gothic architecture "which is also relevant

to Thomas Hardy" as Najwa El Inglizi argues.

The silence and the wild landscape that Sedgwick talks about while listing the features of the

Gothic genre are highly found in the part where Alec rapes/seduces Tess. The dark and Gothic

imagery of "Darkness and silence" (p. 119) accompanied by the existence of the "primeval yews

and oaks" also employs an important Gothic imagery which creates a state of gloom and uncanny

for the reader.

Thus, in Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Hardy's use of the Gothic is found in many features within this

tragic novel. At first, Hardy's characterisation of Tess as a Gothic heroine fits the archetype that

Goldstein sets, as being courageous, guilt, innocent, simple, and victimised by the religious and

social construction of the society she lives in. Secondly, Hardy's diction and imagery in creating

a Gothic atmosphere through the novel is achieved through figurative language, direct

description of places and events, in addition to what El Inglizi interestingly calls "props". The

word "props" that El Inglizi uses to describe how Hardy employs the use of Gothic in his

literature sets up the link between the textual props, imagined props, and represented props

which will be discussed in the later parts of this paper.

Gothic into Screen

It has been discussed that Literature has indeed influenced film industry through providing texts

which are adapted into screen works. Since the beginning of film, Literature, through novels,

poetry and drama, was a major influence on the field of filmmaking. However, according to Film

researcher and scholar William Guynn (2011), although Literature is able to tell stories through

verbal language, "shows the world in phenomenological detail; the filmmaker’s problem then is

how to shape the sequence of images so that they tell a story".

The first part of this paper showed the features of the Gothic tradition and how they are

employed through Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles. It was also argued that the genres

and sub-genres of literature can employ a big effect on the visual representation of written texts

through film.

Nial O'Donnell's (2014)argues that the elements on 18th century Gothic literature were highly

employed and represented in films, in addition to their role in Hollywood's horror films.

Thus, the effect of Gothic Literature on films that O'Donnell talks about are reflected and

employed through the use of visual imagery of cinematography and sound. For sure, there is

nothing called "Gothic Film" or "Gothic Cinema", yet Gothic as a literary genre has been

translated into "Gothic imagery" rather than a cinematic genre on its own through Gothic images,

plots, characters, or even style.

In explaining the notion of translating Gothic into screen, William Patrick Day (1985) says that

the fearful feeling which Gothic leaves is not achieved through written language alone, but it is

rather achieved through what he calls a spectacle.

Thus, visual imagery employed within a spectacle translate the written Gothic literature to be

translated from a Gothic verbal language intro dreadful cinematographic scenery.

In her writing The Gothic on Screen, Misha Kavka (2002) talks about visual codes that constitute

the "Gothic film". Those visual codes which Kavka describes can be either "ruined castle or

abandoned house on a hill made hazy by fog; the dark cemetery dotted with crosses and gnarled,

bare branches; the heavy built wooden doors that close without human aid; the high, arched or

leaded windows that cast imprisoning shadows, the close-ups of mad, or staring eyes". As a

result, the space that filmmakers make use of in the film build up a Gothic mise-en-sce`ne.

It has been discussed in the first part of the paper that the Gothic heroines have specific

emotional and psychological features which Goldstein describes. The role of cinematography in

this case of representation is engaged through the use of cinematic techniques that link a Gothic

space to the psychology of the Gothic protagonist. The use of unusual cinematography, extreme

distinction between light and dark, claustrophobic spaces, extreme camera angles, and

disproportionate shadows are the cinematic techniques that are used in the representation of the

Gothic, according to Kavka.

Gothic: From Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles to Roman Polanski's Tess

Among many film adaptations of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Roman Polanski's

adaptation, entitled Tess in the year 1979 is one of the most memorable version of the story. The

cinematography in this film's adaptation was highly praised, in addition to the set design that was

also admired.

In looking back on all what have been discussed and listed, Polanski's cinematography represents

Hardy's Gothic elements and "props" which Najwa El Inglizi talks about through visual imagery

resulting from the use of light, camera angles and movements, shadows, music and sound, and

art direction.

This part will focus on some excerpts from the film which apply to the features and elements that

El Inglizi, Goldstein, Sedgwick, and Kavka discuss in regards to the elements of Gothic in

Hardy's work, literature, and cinema. As already discussed, the use of cinematography does not

only reflect the props, but it also conceptualises the psychology of suppressed and suffering

Gothic heroine, which is in this case Tess Durbeyfield.

In the scene where Alec accompanies Tess on his horse before raping her, Polanski uses a still

shot of Alec and Tess on the horse in the middle of an extremely foggy forest with some sun rays

striking from the up right corner of the frame (figure 1)1. This shot is extremely Gothic and

medieval in setting and composition. El Inglizi argues that the popularity of the Gothic Tradition

1 for figures, review the appendix

has always been linked with medieval period. In addition to the cinematography, light, and art

direction in this shot, Polanski adds up the sounds of howling owls to create a more sense of

dreadfulness within the scene.

Figure 2, is the shot which follows Tess after she falls asleep in the woods waiting for Alec's

return, straight before the rape/seduction scene. This shot of the full moon covered with

silhouettes of tree branches brings up the Gothic element of Shadow which Kavka discusses as a

way to represent the horrifying sensibility of Gothicism. This shot of the moon is accompanied

with sound of blowing winds which also play a role in creating a sense of horror and danger.

The third excerpt from the movie, is after Tess buries her dead newborn. Polanski uses a still

frame, while behind Tess, who is in the mid-ground appears to be a Gothic built Church in the

background. In the foreground Polanski displays the silhouettes of tree branches on the right side

again to create a feeling of horror.

The excessive use of still frames to display Tess in the film gets back the notion of

claustrophobic scenes which Kavka discusses as an element of Gothic representation on screen.

Conclusion

Being a literary genre and an architectural style, Gothic tradition has succeeded in entering the

filmmaking industry to translate the moments of horror in Gothic novels and non-Gothic novels

which contain Gothic moments. Elements of the Gothic begin from the Gothic character herself,

passing through the settings and development of events. Cinematography role comes to translate

verbal language to visual codes that preserve the Gothic and uncanny moments of literature on

screen.

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Wheatsheaf.

Day, W. P. (1985). In the Circles of Fear and Desire: a Study of Gothic Fantasy. Chicago:

Chicago University Press.

El Inglizi, N. (2002). Negotiating the Gothic in the Fiction of Thomas Hardy. University of

Birmingham, English Department. Birmingham: University of Birminghan.

Goldstein, N. W. (1989). Thomas Hardy's Victorian Gothic: Reassessing Hardy's Fiction and

His Gothic Sensibility. New York: University of Rhode Island.

Guynn, W. (2011). The Stages of Film Production Process. In W. Guynn (Ed.), The Routledge

Companion to Film History (pp. 39-63). London: Routledge.

Hardy, T. (1891). Tess of the D'Urbervilles. London: Penguin.

Kavka, M. (2002). The Gothic on Screen. In J. E. Hogle (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to

Gothic Fiction (pp. 209-229). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

O'Donnell, N. (2014). Representing European Identities in Classic Hollywood Cinema and 18th-

Century Gothic Literature. In G. Barentsen (Ed.), A Language Spoken in Tongues. New

York: Inter-Disciplinary Press.

Polanski, R. (Director). (1979). Tess [Motion Picture].

Sedgwick, E. K. (1986). The Coherence of Gothic Conventions. Methuen.

Walder, D. (2004). The Genre Approach. In D. Walder (Ed.), The Realist Novel (pp. 3-35).

Walten Hall: The Open University.

Whelehan, I. (2007). ‘‘Don’t let’s ask for the moon!’’: Reading and Viewing the Woman's Film.

In D. Cartmell, & I. Whelehan (Eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Literature on

Screen (pp. 138-155). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Appendix

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3